Ministry in Motion

Peace I leave with you; my pease I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.  John 14:27 Peace can often feel like a distant ideal in a world shaped by turmoil, uncertainty, and conflict. Yet Advent reminds us that true peace is anchored in the coming of Christ, a composure, a calmness, that remains steady even when everything around us feels unsteady. One of my favorite moments of the Christmas Eve service arrives at the very end. The overhead lights fade to darkness, leaving only the soft glow of the Advent candles at the front of the sanctuary. Someone steps forward and lights a small hand-held candle from the Christ candle—the center flame of Advent. He turns and shares that light with his neighbor, who then passes it to the next person, and slowly a warm glow spreads across the room. As the candles begin to shine, voices start to sing “Silent Night,” and soon the entire congregation joins in, the harmony growing...

Today we light the candle of Hope.  What if the hope Advent calls us to isn’t about wishing for better circumstances,  but daring to believe that God is already at work in the places that feel most hopeless? Pause. Be still. Reflect: consider Hope as a light that grows in the dark, inviting you to face the shadows with courage and watch for the first flicker of God’s coming... Pkes  

Advent comes from the Latin word adventus —“arrival.” It holds both memory and promise. We look back to the humble birth of Jesus, and we look ahead with quiet longing to His return. Advent is a season of holy anticipation, a stretch of days marked not by hurry, but by hope. It’s a time of watching and waiting, of lighting candles in the dark, of drawing a little nearer to the God who has already drawn near to us. In these Advent days, I feel the invitation to slow down, to breathe, to make space in a heart that so easily fills with noise, and to remember that the Light we ache for is already on the way. He is always coming toward us. Each week, the candles speak: Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love. Come, long-expected Jesus. Come into our waiting, our longing, our celebrations, and our shadows. Make room in us again for Your arrival … Pkes  

Lord, In this season of gratitude, we pause to remember  that every good gift comes from You. Thank You for Your faithfulness, Your provision,  and the people who bless our lives. Fill our hearts with humility and  joy as we give thanks. Amen.  

  How open are we to the Spirit not just visiting—but descending and remaining? The Apostle John wrote: Then John (the baptist) gave this testimony: “ I saw the Spirit come down from   heaven as a dove and remain on him.  ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’  I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.” The Spirit “remaining” reveals a new kind of anointing.  In the Old Testament, the Spirit often came  upon  people temporarily for a task. But here, the Spirit  remains  on Jesus—signifying a constant, abiding presence. This marks Jesus as uniquely and permanently filled with the Spirit, not just empowered for a moment, but dwelling in full communion with the Father. Consider:  Are we seeking a momentary experience, or an abiding relationship with the trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit?…pkes

  More Than the Sum Am I more than the sum of what I’ve said or done? Each week, I read a line from our communion liturgy that always stops me in my tracks: “…You (God) forgive time and again; But we hold fast to the sins of others (and ourselves)” There’s something painfully honest about that. We cling to our failures. We memorize the mistakes of others. We carry the weight of every careless word, every regretful decision, every unmet expectation. But what if God doesn’t keep that kind of score? Richard Rohr once wrote: “Perfection is not the elimination of imperfection, as we think. Divine perfection is, in fact, the ability to recognize, forgive, and include imperfection—just as God does with all of us.” That truth is both unsettling and liberating. It tells me I’m not called to pretend perfection, but to live in the wide-open space of grace. The Apostle Paul pleaded repeatedly with God to take away his “thorn”—that weakness or struggle he couldn’t shake. And God said no. Not be...

Consider this from Richard Rohr: "Periods of seemingly fruitless darkness may in fact highlight all the ways we rob ourselves of wisdom by clinging to the light. Who grows by only looking on the bright side of things?" So now I'm curious.  Does the lioness’ cub grow in stature and girth when the sun goes down?   Do the plants soak in nutrients from the soil after dark? Perhaps darkness isn’t always something to flee, but something to learn from. Growth often happens in hidden places—in the stillness, in the waiting, in the dark. Maybe it’s there, in the shadows, where faith roots deepen and wisdom takes shape. So the next time night falls on your plans, your clarity, or your joy—ask not just when the light will return, but what the darkness is teaching... Pkes

  In 1971, commenting on the Charismatic Renewal, the German Catholic theologian Karl Rahner said, “The devout Christian of the future will either be a ‘mystic,’ one who has ‘experienced’ something, or he will cease to be anything at all.” By mysticism we simply mean the experience of God – and the Holy Spirit is the experience of God.  On this Pentecost Sunday, may the Holy Spirit fill our hearts, ignite our faith, quicken our hearts and send us out in love and with power ~ Amen  #pkes

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Will we run away from God’s vision or follow God’s call to embrace otherness, with all our ambivalence and anxiety, or will we baptize our prejudice and hatred in the waters of religiousfaith?  —Bruce Epperly The Jordan River is the boundary of the Promised Land and a location that features prominently in many Bible stories.